Mithun Manhas is one of the many middle-order batsmen in Indian domestic cricket who were born in the wrong era: that of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly. Throughout his best years, there was never a vacancy at the India level. For Delhi, though, he has been a stabilising presence in the middle since 1998. With the bigger players, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, mostly absent on national duty, Manhas has been the captain of the side for most of the new millennium. He was at the helm when Delhi ended their championship drought in 2007-08, although Gambhir led the side in the semi-final and final. He scored 921 runs in that first-class season at 57.56. Sidharth Monga October 2009